We all know the rituals, have your baby baptised as quickly as possible, show up to Mass each Sunday and receive the Holy Eucharist, if you sin, go to Confession, and so on. But is that just it - do a bunch of rituals from cradle to grave? Of course not. 

 

Sacraments are another group of rituals that tends to be overlooked as something that blocks us from having a personal relationship with Jesus, or having a free run into Heaven. The Sacraments shouldn’t be seen as living a life you choose, but tick off all these sacraments and you’re guaranteed a place in Heaven. Sacraments should be, and are rooted in our faith. 

 

Jesus provided us with the sacraments to help us through the power of the Holy Spirit to guide the path towards Him; helping us in mind and spirit to be closer to Him. During every sacrament, we profess our faith and commitment in Christ. 

 

The sacraments are deeply rooted and based on the Scriptures, even though they were not formally called sacraments during the first foundations of the Church. The Church later gathered biblical rituals and outward signs of God’s grace into seven sacraments. The seven sacraments are visible signs of God’s love for us, just like how a wedding ring is a visible sign of love between a man and woman. Jesus gives us mercy and grace when we receive a sacrament with a genuine faithful heart. As we are aware, God can and does give us grace without any use of an external sign. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean God can’t give us grace with visible signs. We need to note that God does not restrict Himself to the use of material, visible symbols, such as wedding rings, water, oil, etc, in regards to assisting us in our journey of faith. 

 

The two most known sacraments in most non-Catholic churches are Holy Communion (the Eucharist) and Baptism.

Communion is the celebration and the remembrance of the Last Supper that Jesus had with His disciples. Communion is shared with bread and wine and Christians take the time to remember the love of Christ shown to us by his death and resurrection. 

The baptismal water is the visible sign of cleansing oneself and is seen as bringing new life to the person being baptised. When a person becomes a Christian of any sort, they are baptised to convey that they are putting to death their old ways as they go under water, and are starting a new life in Christ as they come up from the water.

 

The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church are: baptism, confirmation, reconciliation, holy communion (the Eucharist), marriage, holy orders, and anointing of the sick. All these sacraments were instituted throughout the Sacred Scriptures by God, and are internally connected. There are three Sacraments of Initiation in the Catholic Church. These are: baptism, confirmation and holy communion. These sacraments lay the foundation of individual Christian lives. Catholics believe that the graces that we receive through the sacraments have to be believed and lived out, or they will be useless. We must have a genuine faith when we receive a sacrament. We are called to be holy.